Editors Notes

As I write this, the daffodil buds are just opening, and the accompanying bird song seems to be a definite harbinger of News spring! So we can at least imagine some months of warm sunshine to come! It is therefore time to think about the April 2011 Society’s spring and summer excursions and trips. You will find full details elsewhere in this edition, together with book- ing forms. In particular, any of you who have the germ of an idea for a research project, but have never used the splendid resources of Gloucestershire Archives might wish to consid- Editor: er joining the ‘Tour’ to the Archives on May 14th. Keith Walker 51 Lancaster Drive Sadly we have to record the recent passing of Dr. Margaret Lydney Barton. Margaret was a long standing member of the Socie- GL15 5SJ ty, past Vice Chair and a hard working member of the Com- mittee. She was also a past Chair of the Committee of the Friends of the Dean Heritage Centre. Margaret studied medi- cine at Girton College, Cambridge from 1945-1948. Her fa- Hon. Sec: ther was a pharmacist and optician in Cinderford, and Mary Sullivan Margaret wrote a memorable article for Issue 17 of the New Forge House Regard about her father’s work in Cinderford. In her later Forge Hill years Margaret lived in Staunton, where she served as clerk Lydbrook GL17 9QS to the Parish Council, before latterly moving to a retirement 01594 860197 home in Caerleon.

I have a confession to make at this point. Being a user of the internet, I frequently forget that many members do not have access to the internet, and therefore cannot download forms from our website. In order that members without internet ac- Website: cess can take advantage of members prices for our ‘Special Offers’ (see the back page), a ‘members only’ order form has been included with this issue.

Finally, I would like to commend to you the work that our Secretary, Mary Sullivan, has been doing to foster greater Registered Charity cooperation between the various history societies and archae- No: 1094700 ological groups in the Forest of Dean area. There is a meet- ing of interested societies in April, and we will report progress to you in the next edition of the newsletter. Designed by Keith Walker Printed by Hanley Court Design and Print Book your Summer Trips! A school log book was the headmaster's record of activities within the school and log books were There is a rare opportunity available on Saturday 14th May (10 obliged to be kept from 1862. Although they were am) to join a ‘Guided tour of Gloucestershire Archives’. supposed to refrain from making personal com- Following an introductory talk on the work of the Archives ments, correspondents often wrote the entries in a (with a cup of coffee!), you will be taken on a guided tour and log book as they would a personal diary. shown parts of the Archive not normally seen by the public. The tour will conclude with a viewing of Forest of Dean specific ar- This team research project is a development arising from a personal micro study undertak- tefacts and documents especially made available for the visit. en by Don Dickson, FACHRS member, in 1998 to study the usefulness of School Log If you are tempted to research a subject but have never used the Books in evaluating the impact of a local school on a community and the impact of the Archive before, or if you are simply curious about the workings community's needs on the school. The work was presented at a FACHRS conference in of the Archive, please complete the relevant form enclosed with 2005. The FACHRS organising committee considered the research and agreed to support the newsletter. Please note that you will have to make your own the project on a wider scale. A pilot project has tested the sources and methods and a full way to Gloucester and that because of building work, parking project is now underway. The project is expected to last two to three years and applications might be restricted at the Archives. to join the project are welcome from any person who would like to take part. Society members, other academic researchers, family historians and local historians are encour- There are two opportunities to join aged to take part in this project that will use a choice of the Microsoft Access (TM) data- ‘Overlooking the Wye Minibus Tours’ on base application or the Microsoft Excel(TM) workbook application to record collected Sunday 5th and 26th June. The full day tours data. A template for data collection is provided to all researchers. We are encouraging as will focus on the conservation work being car- many people as possible to take part. ried out at some of the 40 sites in the ‘Overlooking the Wye’ project. The tour is re- If you wish to take part in this project, so that details of Forest of Dean schools can be in- markable value at £15 per person, and includes cluded, you will find more information on the FACHRS web site: www.fachrs.com transport, coffee and lunch, and the services of a tour guide. There are just 14 places available on each tour, and if you are interested please com- Princess Royal Baths Get plete and return the form enclosed with this Descriptive Plaque newsletter. You may remember the long and ultimately On Saturday 2nd July, the Fairford History Soci- unsuccessful campaign that our tireless ety are hosting the ‘GRCC Local History Com- Conservation Officer, Averil Kear, fought mittee Summer Meeting’. History Societies in to try and prevent the Princess Royal col- Gloucestershire take turns to host these meetings, liery pithead baths from being demolished. and you may remember that the FODLHS hosted the Summer Meeting a few years ago with an Despite all her efforts, unfortunately, most event at Lydney Park. of the bath buildings were demolished in The meeting in Fairford offers the chance to 2008, leaving just a small part of the structure as a bat roost. Finally, earlier this year, view the remarkable 28 windows of medieval the soon to be defunct South West Regional Development Agency erected a plinth and stained glass that St Mary’s Church is famous plaque commemorating the baths. for. There are two other tours available in Fairford on the day; ‘A Heritage Walk around the Averil Kear has taken a look at the plaque and comments “Having conferred with Ron Town’, and ‘New Life from an Old School’ (how Farmors School, opened in 1738, was Beard, Ian Pope, and John Belcher (one of the Trustees of the Dean Heritage Museum) reborn into a 21st century building). we are all agreed that the wording on the plinth at Princess Royal is rather generalised Tea and refreshments will be available in the Community Centre after the tours, where you and does not really reflect Princess Royal colliery in particular. Hopefully in the can meet members of Fairford History Society. future we may be able correct this, meanwhile at least there is a reminder of one more of Full details including costs, parking etc are available in the enclosed booking form. our pits lost to redevelopment”. Monuments and Plaques In the footsteps of F. W. Harvey on the Western Front

In this occasional series ‘Monuments & Our new Indoor Meetings Secretary, David Harrison, was for Plaques’, we will rediscover the memorials nearly ten years Chairman of the Western Front Association for placed in the Forest area by the History Society, Surrey, and is a qualified driver/tour operator. and explain some of the background to the mon- uments. David still organises tours to the battlefields, and in the Spring/early Summer of 2012 he is proposing to organise a pil- We start in this issue with the Mushet memorial, grimage to battlefield scenes in Belgium and France associated erected at Darkhill. with the British involvement in The Great War,1914-18. Robert Forester Mushet (1811–1891) was a met- allurgist and businessman, born April 8, 1811, in Following in the footsteps of F. W. Harvey, other Foresters, and Coleford. He was the youngest son of David men from Gloucestershire, the means of transport will be a fully Mushet. David, was an iron master, formerly of insured 16 seat mini bus, travelling via Euro Tunnel, which the Clyde, Alfreton and Whitecliff Ironworks. will pick up and return travellers in the Forest. Accommodation will be half – board in a In 1818/9 David Mushet built a foundry at hotel Campanile or its equivalent. The trip will be fully guided, with appropriate handouts Darkhill. Robert spent his early years studying and maps. Approximate cost at today’s prices is £350/£400 for a two night / three day or metallurgy with his father and took over the three night / four day trip. management of Darkhill in 1845. Before proceeding any further, David needs to know if you are interested in seeing a de- In 1848 he moved to the newly constructed Forest Steel Works on the edge of the tailed itinerary. If so, please telephone, or email, as below, leaving your name, address and Darkhill site where he carried out many experiments, in the next ten years, before mov- telephone number and the details will be posted to you, assuming sufficient interest is ing to the Titanic Steelworks in 1862. shown. The memorial at Darkhill (above) commemorates the work David Mushet undertook to produce durable steel rails. At Derby Station the Midland Railway had consistently ex- David Harrison 01600 772849 email: [email protected] perienced problems with iron rails. In 1857 Mushet was the first to make durable rails of steel rather than cast iron. The first of Mushet's steel rails was delivered to Derby Mid- A final request is enclosed for those who haven't yet land Railway Station, where "it was ... laid down early in 1857 at a heavily trafficked paid their 2010/11 subs (due in October 2010 at the part of the line where the iron rails had to be renewed every six months, and occasional- AGM). I know budgets are tight, but we are good ly every three.” Six years later, in 1863, the rail seemed as perfect as ever, although value! Can I again remind those on standing order to some 700 trains had passed over it daily. During its 16 years "life" 1,252,000 detached update their annual payment to £8:00 for one person engines and tenders at the least, apart from trains, had passed over that rail. and £12 for a family, or two at the same address. The Society membership remains buoyant at a total number of 356. Of course, only some During 2011 we celebrate the 200th anni- of our members manage to attend meetings or walks and trips, as many live at a considera- versary of the birth of David Forester ble distance away (some indeed live abroad). Our website attracts many members who Mushet. If you want a guided visit to the have a historic connection with our beautiful Forest. Darkhill site, you can purchase a copy of a Darkhill walk, produced by Keith We welcome these new members to the Society: Webb in conjunction with the Forestry Commission, or download a copy from Mr A Beaumont, Oldcroft Mr P & Mrs K Ellis, Tuffley, Gloucester Keith Webb’s home pages: Mrs A Lewis, Cinderford Ms P M Masters, Coleford Mr P & Mrs S Shailer, Lydney Mr T Tomlin, Cinderford https://sites.google.com/site/keithlloydwe Ms S Day, Ruardean Woodside Mr A E Gardiner, Ruardean. bb/forest-of-dean-articles-1/darkhill- Mr D Leat, Goodrich iron-works/ manager, Ted Cooper worked with Rogers on creating a viable production method to make container panels. Ted Cooper and the Duramin In the late ‘60s Duramin supplied a first batch of 200 of these 20ft containers (with steel end Engineering Company of frames and corner posts) to Manchester Liners and they were used for shipping dry freight from UK to Canada. Subsequently 40ft reefer containers (reefer was the industry name given Lydney to insulated and refrigerated containers) were supplied to many of the big shipping lines. Following on from this Duramin also started to manufacture lorry cabs using fibreglass After the Second World War the Royal Forest of (these were originally specified by Bulwark Transport). They later made dual cabs for Dean Development Association created an industri- Seddon Atkinson in fibreglass and also a few cabs for ERF and Albion. al estate north of Lydney Harbour. Among the main firms attracted to the estate, where around 1,000 By the early ‘70s the Lydney factory was devoted solely to producing reefer containers, but people were employed by 1960, was the Duramin struggling with technical problems and spending a lot of time rectifying faults, thus getting Ted Cooper and a colleague checking a behind with orders. During this time the supply of containers reached saturation point (most vehicle in the Duramin factory at Lydney Engineering Company, which built bodywork for commercial vehicles. countries had manufacturers by then) and demand for new containers tailed off.” Tony Beadle tells the story (below), of Ted Cooper, who was Manager of the Development It is understood that Duramin had moved to Hong Kong by the late 1970's. When Duramin Department for Duramin. Engineering left Lydney, Lydney Containers was set up by the remaining management team, but had no connection with Duramin itself. “In 1935, aged 14½, Ted Cooper joined Duramin at Hythe Road, Willesden, as a commer- cial bodybuilder apprentice. He worked for the company until 1969, becoming manager of The main body of text was compiled from notes taken during an interview with Ted Cooper the Development Department at Lydney, and was interviewed about his career in October by Tony Beadle in October 2009 and was extracted by permission from Tony Beadle’s 2009. book ‘Armadale to Aquila: The History of Vehicle Manufacturing in Hillingdon’ published by Panic Button Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-9566538-0-2 During the 1930s Ted remembers Duramin built a huge range of commercial vehicles in light alloy: from large box bodies on 8-wheel chassis to small containers for many The Cyril Hart Award companies (including tea suppliers like Lyons), also three-way tippers, lorry cabs and platform bodies, etc. Ted subsequently worked on a big contract for the London Brick The Society has received a very generous do- Company, which included the first two four-wheelers based on the AEC Monarch chassis. nation of £500 from the son and daughter of the late Dr. Cyril Hart. He was called up in 1942 and joined the Army, returning to work for Duramin in 1947. When the Lydney factory was opened in 1950 there were half a dozen local men (who had Our thanks go to Judith Fern and Anthony previously received just one week’s training at Park Royal!) plus a few people from Hart for the gift, which will be used to help London. Fred Watson (who became works supervisor) and Ted Cooper were sent there to fund the ‘Cyril Hart Award’. This is a new take charge and they did most of body work themselves to begin with as it took 12 months prize of £50 which is awarded annually to the to train fully the local workers. Initially they did commercial vehicle bodywork, with article adjudged the ‘best’ in the New Regard. chassis delivered from Park Royal. Living in lodgings for the first year, Ted would drive a This was first awarded, appropriately, chassis down from London on a Monday morning (illegally loaded with all the bodywork in October 2010 to Roger Deeks for his article ‘The Wood Distillation Works & Muni- material required) and return the finished vehicle on Friday. Gradually more staff went to tions Supply in the Great War’ (published in New Regard Issue 24). Lydney (from drawing office, etc) and general manager Ernie Horritt transferred there permanently about 18 months after the factory opened. The Cyril Hart Award is a companion to the Scott-Garrett Award, which is also given an- nually for the best presentation to a Society meeting. Around 1961/62 Duramin submitted a prototype ISO container for the new worldwide containerisation system. Bill Rogers, an engineer from Australia, invented a lightweight The photograph above shows Dr. Cyril Hart (left) with Dr. Scott Garrett who was a chem- insulation panel consisting of a vacuum-moulded sandwich of rigid polyurethane foam ist by profession and supervised the production of acetone at the wood distillation works lined with a glass reinforced plastics material and, as the Development Department in the Forest of Dean during the first world war. Indoor Meetings From the mid 1700’s the social upheaval of the industrial revolution and the deprivation of the working class led to an increasing demand for greater democracy. Protests in- The Tinplaters of Lydney - (15th January) creased until on 3rd November 1839, marchers set off from various parts of South Wales to converge on Newport. The Mayor of Newport had prepared a ‘welcoming committee’, The West Dean Centre, Bream, proved to be an attractive and comfortable venue for our and when the marchers arrived at the Westgate Hotel in Newport, 28 soldiers, hidden in first Talk in the New Year which was given by well –known local, John Belcher. the hotel, fired volleys into the demonstrators killing 22 and wounding 50 more.

The tinning process was explained and John even alluded briefly to tin in the Ancient World Subsequently the authorities declared a ‘Special Commission’ to investigate the ‘High and the original Cornish connection. The great Lydney Tinplate Works dominated the treason’ committed by the demonstrators, leading eventually to a trial of 14 defendants at screen from a photograph taken from St. Mary’s in 1950. We were shown the furnaces, the Monmouth in December 1839. Four defendants were acquitted, five transported, and three 60 ton fly-wheel driven by steam, the Tin House Finishing Dept. and the Sheepskin Rolls sentenced to be hanged, although later the capital sentences were remitted to transporta- which tinned the plate. This, once, was Lydney’s main employer. The time of day in Lyd- tion to Australia. By the time the most famous defendant John Frost died in 1877, at ney was not the province of the B.B.C. or even Greenwich Mean Time, but the Tin Works least some of the six key demands of the 1838 People’s Charter had been satisfied. hooter. Hooter time punctuated the air and set the clocks and wristwatches. Following the now restored tradition of ‘tea’, a lively question time ensued, with a debate The very successful Thomas family ruled the tinplate roost and provided employment and starting about when the working class first became radicalised. Perhaps a further talk housing for the workers in three-storey terraces. They also paid out very low wages which could focus on whether the 1790’s radical movement extended to Forest? provoked strikes and bad feeling. On the other side of the coin, the Lydney Institute was a life enhancer with its Beer & Snooker Club. The Thomases were very big employers in- ‘Blood, Guts and a Little off the Top’ - 12th March deed. In the last quarter of the 19th century, expansion and extra output was the name of the On 12th March, 2011, at the Belle Vue centre, jolly John game. We explored the Lydney canal ,wharf and upper basin. We sailed on the wee Glas- Putley, completely costumed up as a barber-surgeon, gow puffer “The Black Dwarf” and heard what happened to its bell. Thanks to John, we stood behind a table overflowing with medical goodies. lived again the life of a tinplater, the daily grind, the fearful conditions and the snug status of real community. The Thomas Works became Richard Thomas & Baldwin, eventually A barber – surgeon of the Middle Ages shaved, let blood The Steel Company of Wales with expensive changes and much modernisation at the fore and drew teeth. John told us all about it! The audience front in 1956. Just in time to close down for ever in 1957 after 168 years. reaction predictably resounded with “Ooohs” and “Aaahs” and nervous laughter as John’s matter – of – For me, my father, Rowland Harrison,[1904-1970], a labourer in R. T. B. Landore, Swan- fact information “entertained”. sea, all his working life, lived again through this splendid Talk. Terrific insights into the barber- surgeon’s life have been discovered in the wreck of the David J. Harrison, M.A Mary Rose. Ranging from close shaves, hair cut with sheep shears, nits hunted by combs, wounds soothed by honey, to remedies for flux and biting on willow tree bark, the horrors Monmouth & The Chartists - (12th February) mounted. Keeping the Four Humours in balance and believing that prevention is always better than cure, the barber – surgeon was in high demand in the local community ever Those who joined the 50 or so members at West Dean since monks had given up the practice of medicine. Astrology was used to determine the Centre on Saturday 12th February were treated to an nature of the illness. “Piss Prophets” were highly thought of and the application of medi- entertaining treat in David Harrison’s talk on cal leeches commonplace. ‘Monmouth and the Chartists’. David provided to each member of the audience a timeline of events which he But if powdered mice and the mixing of horsehair and egg white failed, it was, of course, used as a prompt for his speech and rather unusually, “the will of God”. Your time had come and no blame was attached to the barber – surgeon. The best audience groans were confined to amputations, trepanning and cauterising. Real showed the accompanying slides after he finished his speech. teeth, provided by a tame Newent dentist, were exhibited, sword and pistol wounds ex- plained and through a leather mouth piece the excruciating pain communicated itself. Published in 1838, the People’s Charter listed six key demands, which are worth repeating below if only to remind ourselves just how limited democracy was at the time; ‘A vote for Thankfully, we were never embarrassed by the call for volunteers. We were spared – but a every man at 21 years’, ‘Vote by secret ballot’, ‘No property qualification for M.P’s’,’ routine visit to the doctor or dentist will never be the same again. Payment for Members of Parliament’,’ Equal electoral districts’, ‘Annual Parliaments’. David J. Harrison The Forest - Safe for Now? SPECIAL OFFERS! No one could be unaware of the recent furore over Government plans for the National Forest Estate, and the potential implications for the Forest of Dean. As a charity, and out of respect for the broad Complete Your Collection of New Regards! views of the membership, the History Society re- strained it’s activities in connection with the recent events to lobbying to protect the archaeological and historic features of the Forest of Dean. We can now offer past issues of the New Regard issues However leading members of the Society felt that 19,20,21,22 and 23 for sale at the special price of £3.50. they wanted to engage more deeply, and so joined the ‘Hands Off Our Forest’ campaign to take ac- You can find out about the contents of these issues at our tion in their own names. The photograph (right) website: shows Averil Kear, Ron Beard and Baroness Jan Royall at the recent celebratory event at the http:/www.forestofdeanhistory.org.uk/LHSnrprevious.html Speech House.

The Hands Off the Forest Campaign recently stat- ed: “This is the third time in 30 years that the For- est of Dean has had to fight and win a battle to Another special offer is our Miner’s Memorial CD. Members save our Forest. HOOF was the first local cam- can buy copies for the reduced price of £10. paign to mobilise and it has been the largest and most active of them all. The Rally in the snow As well as the record of mining casualties, these CDs include sparked the national response. Thousands of people gave wonderful support which led to details, including some superb pictures, of nearly all the former the government to abandon their plans, and drop the clauses in the Public Bodies Bill and mine sites, many of which are now nearly obliterated by the terminate the consultation process.” HOOF added “A permanent and positive solution woodland. So the CD is an excellent record of our industrial must now be made to define the whole of the public forest estate in England and to protect history which could otherwise be lost forever and would make the expert Forestry Commission staff that manages them. As the public has demonstrated, a very acceptable present. these woods and forests are regarded as precious public open spaces. It’s now up to the Government to recognise this and come up with positive proposals.”

Research Tip! Thanks to Dave Tuffley for this suggestion! For those of you We would like to remind you that there are still a few of our specially commissioned mugs availa- who have access to the Internet, and have a current library ‘barcode’, then you can search ble. There are two designs, one showing our Roll on-line certain 19th century newspapers: of Honour Memorial at New Fancy and the other showing Trafalgar Arch. 1. Via the URL below go to the ‘Virtual Reference Library’ within Gloucestershire Library: http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/libraries/index.cfm?articleid=10789 2. Select ‘Newspaper’ then ‘19th Century British Library Newspapers’ The back of each mug has the name of the Society together with our logo. Caldwell Creations 3. Enter your library barcode who designed and made the mugs have assured us that they are dishwasher friendly and make 4. When you select the newspaper you wish to look at, the text has normally a a really good cup of tea or coffee. They are now available at the special price of £2.50 each. green marker against the search name. If you cannot see that marker, go back to You can buy the issues of the New Regard, mugs and CDs at our meetings the top of the page and select 50% magnification (instead of 33%) and this or buy the New Regards and CDs online at our website, or by using the form included should then bring your article up on the screen. with this newsletter.